Sealed With a Kiss

by Rachael Lucas

  ‘That’s no the last of it,’ said Bruno, following Kate’s gaze. ‘If I were you, I’d get over tae the cottages and get yer work done, pronto.’

  ‘I’m onto it – look.’ Kate indicated two bags full of shopping at her feet. The new arrivals had emailed a request for enough food to tide them over until the next day. The bags were bulging with the ingredients they’d requested, and a couple of bottles of red wine. ‘I’ll drop this lot off, make sure all the bedding has been sorted and get back. I promise. I’ve got a load of work to do up at the big house, anyway. Did Roddy tell you about our plans for the wildlife tours?’

  ‘Oh, Roddy now, is it?’ teased Bruno. ‘Aye, he did. You’ve been a right tonic for him, ye know that?’

  Kate ducked her head, blushing. It felt as if everyone on the island was urging them on, but the only person who wasn’t interested was Roderick himself. She still wasn’t convinced by Morag’s theory that he was holding back, from a fear of getting hurt.

  ‘He’s a good friend.’

  Bruno raised an eyebrow. ‘Right enough. He’s a good lad. It’s nice to see him working alongside you. You make a good pair.’

  ‘He’s a good boss to have,’ Kate agreed, with a tone of voice that didn’t invite further comment. The reality was that if she messed things up, she’d be out of a job, and a home. Lost in thought, she waved goodbye to Bruno and loaded the car with bags. The air was cold and dry, and she turned the heater up as high as possible, shivering as she drove away.

  Her panic about the state of Fiona’s cottage had been unfounded. Susan’s aunt had been happy to take on the job of housekeeper for the cottages. Once the bunkhouse was up and running, the job would be full-time; but, keen to make a good impression, for now she’d cleaned the cottages, made up all the beds, left piles of thick, fluffy towels in the bathrooms and stacked logs in baskets by the log-burners. They were ready to go – all they needed were the finishing touches, thought Kate, unpacking the shopping bags. She left the red wine on the worktop, with the corkscrew close by. After a long journey up from England with a car full of children, she was certain the guests would be grateful for a drink.

  She was just locking up when her mobile rang.

  ‘Kate, it’s me.’

  ‘Roddy . . . Roderick.’

  ‘The weather forecast doesn’t look great. I spoke to Mark, and we decided we’d be better doing it today and getting it over with.’ The phone crackled as the reception dipped.

  ‘You’re bringing Flora home?’ Her stomach knotted with excitement. Standing on the doorstep, she looked down to the shoreline. The rocks, as ever, were dotted with seals.

  ‘I am.’ The smile in his voice was obvious. ‘I’ve got a crate in the back of the Land Rover and I’ll be on the two-thirty ferry. Do you want to meet me at the bay?’

  ‘I’m there already. I’ll ring Jean and tell her to keep hold of Willow, and I’ll wait at the cottage. I need to run through the spreadsheet of bunkhouse details with Billy in any case.’

  ‘Super-efficient. I’m impressed. And to think when you came here you were allergic to computers.’

  ‘I’m a girl of many talents. I’ll see you later.’ Kate put her phone in her pocket. That had sounded a bit flirtatious. Maybe Morag was right. But no, as soon as Roderick was back on the island, she’d find it impossible to tell him how she felt – especially when she didn’t even know herself. He was her boss. She needed the job. Focus! She took a breath and calmed herself, before heading down to the bunkhouse to check on Billy’s progress.

  ‘I reckon we’ll be done wi’ this by the end of the week,’ said Billy. He was standing in what was to be the shower room, tangled wires protruding from the walls, the floor covered with a thick layer of plaster dust and boxes of tiles. Before Kate had seen the cottages being renovated, she’d have struggled to visualize how this chaos could be turned into a sleek, modern-day bunkhouse for visiting students. Now, though, she could see through the dust sheets and the remaining piles of rubble, and the end of her first project on the Duntarvie estate was in sight. The thought that there would be more filled her with a fizz of excitement. She’d forgotten about Roderick’s job offer when she first woke up, and the realization when it dawned was so lovely that she’d kept it to herself, not even sharing it with her friends or with Bruno.

  ‘Kate?’ Billy nudged her, breaking into her thoughts. ‘Are you away with the fairies this afternoon? I’ve been talking to you for the last five minutes and I swear you haven’t heard a word.’

  ‘We’ll be finished in a week or so,’ she repeated, parrot-fashion.

  ‘Aye, I said that,’ Billy rolled his eyes with an expression of exaggerated patience. ‘Then I said that Tam has taken the van over to the town, to get some grout because we’ve run out. He’ll be back in half an hour or so. And I said: do you want a cup of tea?’

  ‘I’ll make it.’ She picked up the chipped mugs. ‘Let’s have lunch in the cottage – I won’t tell, if you don’t.’

  ‘Sounds good to me. We normally have it in the van with the radio on.’ Billy’s eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. ‘I tell you what. I’ll finish off this wee bit. You get the kettle on.’

  Kate flicked on the heating and washed the mugs. A few minutes later, parking his filthy boots outside the front door, and checking the coast was clear before coming into the sitting room, Billy appeared. His weather-beaten face was furtive.

  ‘If Jessie McKay knew we’d been in here after she’d cleaned the place, she’d have a blue fit.’

  ‘We’ll keep it to ourselves then,’ said Kate, handing him a mug of tea. They sank back into the big leather sofa together, looking out over the bay.

  ‘I just spoke to Roddy. He’s on the ferry over. Tam’s had a problem with the van engine, so I’m going to take the Land Rover off him when he gets here. You’ll be okay to give him a run home to the big house after you release the seal pups, won’t you?’

  ‘Yes, fine,’ said Kate. No, she thought, not fine. I feel like a fifteen-year-old, and my hands are actually clammy and I feel sick at the thought. This is ridiculous. ‘I might just take a little walk down to the beach, to have a look at the seals. I’ll clear up when I get back.’

  ‘Right enough.’ Billy flicked open his newspaper, propped it on his stomach and closed his eyes. ‘I’ll have five minutes and then get on. I’ll leave the door on the latch.’

  Kate sat on her usual rock, looking out at the sea, hugging her knees, waiting for Flora to come home. The snow was falling again, heavier now, blanketing the sand.

  Her mobile buzzed in her pocket, surprising her and breaking the silence. There must be a tiny pocket of mobile reception here on the beach:

  Are you still alive?

  Emma. Kate breathed a sigh of relief.

  Yes. Just. But I seem to have forgotten I’m not Cinderella.

  OMG. You’ve fallen madly in love with Sir Roderick of Posh?

  Kate smiled to herself as she typed into her phone:

  Slightly. But when he looked into my eyes and told me he had something important to say . . .

  Oh God. You didn’t turn him down? Story of your bloody life. You need to realize how lovely you are.

  Shut up! No, worse than that. He offered me a job.

  Kate sat for a moment, staring at her phone. Emma clearly didn’t have anything to say to that, either. It wasn’t exactly an expression of undying love, was it?

  Aha. That’s because he wants to keep you on the island.

  Too slow. You had to think about that, didn’t you?

  Kate grinned at her phone, then looked up, hearing the rumbling diesel engine of the Land Rover.

  Oops. He’s here. Text you later. xxx

  The Land Rover crept slowly across the verge and down the rutted track to the bay. Roderick pulled to a stop beside Kate’s rock, leaning over to open the passenger door. He smiled at her, dark eyes shining with excitement.

  ‘We need to get them as close to the sea as we can. Lucky Bill
y’s here, really – it’s a heavy job.’ He pulled on a thick waterproof coat. His hair was sprinkled with snowflakes.

  Through flurries of snow Kate could see the dark shape of Billy jogging down the little lane from the cottages, woolly hat pulled down low over his forehead. She felt a sudden wave of sadness, suspecting that once Flora was released she’d probably never see her again.

  ‘Let me give you a hand wi’ that, Roddy.’ Billy opened the back of the Land Rover, revealing a large plastic crate balanced on two long wooden planks. Using a complicated system of ropes and pulleys, they manoeuvred it onto the snowy ground. A plaintive wailing could be heard from within.

  ‘She’s been calling all the way here.’ Roderick lifted the plastic mesh that covered the crate.

  ‘Oh!’ She hadn’t expected Flora to be with her rescued mate, Reggie.

  It all seemed horribly real now, and Kate dug her fingernails into her palms. Her gloveless hands were freezing, and tears were mingling with the melting snowflakes on her cheeks.

  Roderick caught her hand as she swiped at her eyes. He pulled her into an awkward hug, taking her by surprise.

  ‘I know, it’s hard.’

  She could feel his breath on her hair and her heart was beating wildly. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.

  ‘They’re wild animals, and we’re making up for some of the damage we do to this planet, by helping them.’ He held her out at arm’s length, smiling. ‘I promise you, it’ll be worth it.’

  ‘If you two dinna get a move on, you’ll no be able to see a thing,’ pointed out Billy prosaically. ‘I’ll nip back wi’ the Land Rover just now – I widna hang around, though. This snow’s getting heavier by the minute.’

  ‘I wouldn’t bother coming back, Billy. We’ll head off as soon as we’ve released the pups.’ Roderick tossed him the keys, and they watched as Billy drove off the snow-covered beach and headed for Kilmannan and an early dinner.

  ‘Right. What we need to do is place these plastic guards here,’ said Roderick, balancing the large pieces of plastic on either side of the crate. ‘These will stop Flora and Reggie from deciding to disappear up the beach towards the road.’

  Reggie, realizing he was missing out, had started to wail. The noise was deafening.

  ‘And that’s it!’ Roderick looked at Kate, and gave her an encouraging smile. ‘We can do it together.’

  They reached over the top of the crate, each taking a hold of the plastic casing that was keeping the seal pups captive. The side slipped away and the two pups were there, whiskers twitching, eyes bright in the white landscape. Reggie shuffled forward, stopping to nose at the snow. Flora looked up at Kate, liquid eyes shining.

  ‘Go on.’ The lump in Kate’s throat made it hard for her to speak. ‘Look, Flora, there’s a whole sea out there for you.’

  Reggie was already nearly at the water’s edge, and a group of seals were watching with interest as he approached. He slipped in, and was gone. Kate swallowed a sob.

  Flora, ever inquisitive, had stopped to nose at something that was protruding from the snow. The watching seals didn’t move, but continued to look on, mildly. One of them might be her mother, thought Kate. Would she recognize her, or was Flora destined to spend the rest of her life without a family?

  Unthinkingly Kate reached for Roderick’s hand. His fingers were warm and they closed around hers, comfortingly, as they watched Flora shuffle the last few feet to the sea.

  ‘And there she goes.’

  Kate couldn’t speak, such was her sadness. She stood, holding Roderick’s hand, watching as the little grey head bobbed up from the sea, disappeared, then reappeared.

  ‘Look – they’ve found each other.’ Laughing, Roderick pulled her closer to the shore, pointing to the sea. The two seal pups were clowning around in the water, playing just as they had for the last few months together in the outdoor pool at the Seal Sanctuary.

  ‘Hang on, Mr Certified Marine Mammal Medic, are we not breaking all the rules here?’ Kate laughed through her tears. ‘I thought we weren’t allowed within thirty feet of the seals, if they were hauled out on the rocks?’

  ‘Do they look like they care?’

  Kate looked around at the rocks, which were dotted with seals of all sizes, all of which appeared completely unconcerned. ‘No, but . . . ’

  ‘But nothing. I think they approve of us.’ He grinned at her, looking boyish all of a sudden, and pulled her by the hand. ‘Come on, let’s get going. You’re freezing.’

  A strong wind had blown up, and the snow was so heavy that by the time they reached the cottages they could only see a few feet in front of them.

  ‘Look at my car!’ Kate was amazed by how quickly the snow had drifted, whipped into corners by the sea wind.

  ‘Let’s get inside. I’ll ring Billy, get him to come back over with the Land Rover. There’s no way your little car is going to make it over the hills in this.’

  They clattered into the cottage in a flurry of snow and foot-stamping. Roderick had the kettle on before Kate had even removed her boots. He was frowning at his phone.

  ‘No signal. Can I see yours?’ He reached across, taking Kate’s phone out of her hand. ‘Bugger! The reception is terrible on this side of the island at the best of times. We ’ll have to stay put until Billy arrives.’

  Was the prospect of being trapped with her so hideous? Kate spun round, looking out at the whiteness, feeling uncomfortable. She’d have to make the best of it and use the time to discuss business plans.

  The squeak of the log-burner door opening startled her.

  ‘We may as well be comfortable.’ There was a crackle as Roderick lit a match and the firelighters whooshed awake. He glanced up at her. ‘I can think of worse places to be stranded than here, can’t you?’ Behind the glass window of the wood-burner the log fire crackled, instantly bright. ‘Coffee or tea?’

  ‘Tea, please. I’m freezing.’ Kate curled up on the sofa by the fire. ‘Does it normally snow like this in winter?’

  She gazed out of the window. It was whirling down in thick flakes now, impossibly beautiful and completely impassable.

  Roderick made the tea as she sat in silence.

  ‘Once in a while we get a bad storm, and the roads can become dangerous pretty quickly.’ He passed her a steaming mug and sat perched on the coffee table, opposite her. His long legs were taking up so much space that their knees were almost touching. Oh God! Please let me not make a weird gulping noise when I swallow this tea, thought Kate. And please let me think of something to say. The silence as they drank their tea was uncomfortable.

  The buzz of Roderick’s mobile made them both jump. It was sitting on the table, and they both stared at it with surprise, before starting to laugh.

  Roderick picked it up. ‘It’s a text from Billy. Says the roads are a nightmare, and we’ll be better off staying the night.’

  ‘Do you think the guests will mind if we eat their dinner?’

  ‘I think the guests won’t be making it here tomorrow in this weather. And I’m sure they wouldn’t mind in any case.’

  When relaxed like this, he was easy company. Kate curled her legs underneath her, watching the flames as the fire settled. Roderick leaned forward, rifling through the basket of DVDs that Kate had chosen for the cottage. At least if they were to watch something, it might pass the time. The silence was huge, filling the room.

  Finishing his tea in moments, he stood up. ‘Are you done?’

  ‘Nowhere near.’ Her mug was still almost full. He couldn’t sit still, either.

  He checked his watch. ‘Half-past four. I think we can waive the rules in the circumstances, don’t you?’

  Standing in the kitchen area, pushing his hand through his hair in the gesture she’d come to know well, he gave her a smile. He picked up the bottle of red she’d chosen so carefully and, tucking it under his arm, returned to the sofa with two glasses and a corkscrew.

  ‘We can’t drive. We can’t work,’ he explain
ed, handing her a glass. ‘We may as well have fun.’

  Kate put down her mug. There was no contest between tea and wine, in the circumstances.

  ‘Cheers!’ He clinked his glass against hers, hesitating for a moment, poised beside the sofa. ‘Do you mind if I . . .’

  ‘Of course not.’ Kate shuffled sideways, making room. She’d designed this, the smaller of the two cottages, to be a cosy, romantic retreat. There was only a two-seater sofa and an old-fashioned, upright reading chair.

  Kate took a huge gulp of wine to steady her nerves. There was no television to break the silence, and the evening stretched out ahead of her, never-ending. And there was only one bed. Oh God! What on earth had she been thinking when she planned this cottage?

  ‘Have you heard from Fiona?’ she heard herself asking, idiotically, in an unnatural voice.

  ‘No.’ A nerve flickered in Roderick’s cheek. ‘I don’t expect to, either.’

  ‘Mmm.’

  Well, thought Kate, that was a roaring success. Which awkward conversational gambit shall I go for next? Perhaps I could ask him about his mother’s death. Or why he spent his overdraft on a Hogmanay party, when he’d already worked out exactly what the money was going to be spent on. She fiddled with the stem of her glass, spinning it round.

  ‘Roderick?’

  ‘Kate.’

  ‘Why did you spend your overdraft on a Hogmanay party?’

  He put his head in his hands and groaned. ‘Bloody hell! You can’t have any secrets on this island. You’ve been talking to Morag, haven’t you?’

  ‘Um, maybe,’ said Kate, pouring more wine into their glasses. ‘She didn’t mean to say it, it slipped out.’

  ‘Honestly?’

  ‘Honestly. She didn’t mean to say anything, it was just we were talking about—’ Kate stopped, remembering exactly what the conversation had been.

  ‘I don’t mean you to be honest – I mean I will be.’ He picked up his glass, contemplated the contents and downed it in a mouthful, pulling a face. He reared up from the sofa, pacing across to the window and back, before returning to his seat on the coffee table, facing her and looking furious. ‘It was for you.’